I'mMortal
by xMissNalax
Summary: Last summer, right before graduation, Naruto Uzumaki took his own life. This summer, right before college, Naruto Uzumaki is very much alive; and seeking revenge. I, Sasuke Uchiha, know far more then I should.
1. Lone Fox

**Read All About It: **What do you think of the spiffy little author's note title, other then 'A/N.' It came to mind, so I went ahead and wrote it down. XD  
Anyways, I am having a small writer's block, not the type where I have no ideas, but the type were my fingers just refuse to type. It's strange, because I am usually wanting to type but have no ideas. So, to fix this, I have decided to go ahead and write a small story, most likely a one shot.  
Or, you know, this story may possibly turn out to be something more. I am gearing more of a school/student life type of story. Bullying, something sappy like that, possibly. I believe, though this is going to sound major cheesy, that bullying is a major issue in the world; since I was once a victim of it, for specifics: cyberbullying. Anyways, who knows what will come out of this story.  
The story, however, is not at all related to the Naruto plot line. It will consist of most of the major characters, Sasuke Uchiha being the main one, it is in his point of view.  
Anyways, thank you to anyone reading this fanfiction, anyone who reviews/favorites/author-alerts, anything like that. I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. For some reason, I keep forgetting to put this on chapters and such. XD I might as well pin it to my profile, but: I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Naruto. If I did, well, I wouldn't be here writing a fanfiction. Also! I do not own any products, songs, databases, of anything of the sort mentioned in this story.

P.S.S. Fanfiction will not allow me to do that spiffy title I have here in the document. D; But I will figure something out.

**Edit:** I am currently going through this story to try and clean it up a bit. (: The plot will not change, at all, I am just editing some grammar and some spelling mistakes that I have made along the way. I am also making it a little more organized then it was.

(I'm)Mortal  
Written By: xMissNalax  
1: Lone Fox

* * *

**June 4****th**

They used to make fun of him; the blonde man, sitting in the corner, who was once a small, innocent, child. A long time ago, no one liked him, they threw stones at him, called him names and no one would ever invite him to play hide-n-seek during recess. No one even noticed him, other than the people who had too; like the teachers and the principle.

To be honest, for a long time; _I didn't notice him, either. _

Naruto Uzumaki, that was his name, I believe. He had blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and weird markings on his cheeks that looked almost completely like an animals. He was _never completely normal. _

Until last summer, when the news spread like wild fire, right before we all graduated; _he had been no one. _It hit the walls of the halls, in that damned school. It cut into the souls of the students who claimed they had none. The lockers even groaned in response to the news.

_Uzumaki, Naruto was dead. _He was _never coming back._

What was it that took his life? Some claimed it was a gun, some claimed it was his sleeping pills, and other claimed it was every person, every artifact, every faint reminder that after graduation he wouldn't be even the kid in the corner. _He would be forgotten. _

Forgotten people never get on in life. I guess that is what everyone had been telling Naruto. I never made myself a figure to the social crowd, or the popular crowd. I got along just fine with them, really, but it just wasn't my thing. I liked my guitar. I liked my lonely room. I liked my inverted personality.

_That wasn't a problem. _Now, though, I blame myself sometimes for being a loner. If I hadn't been, then maybe Naruto would still be alive. On several counts I wanted to go talk to him. When he had his MP3 player in his ears, I wanted to ask what song he was listening too. When he had an essay to write, I wanted to ask how his process towards getting it finished was; I never got mine turned in on time, thank heavens that teachers always believed my excuses.

Sometimes, when the others wouldn't leave him alone, I simply wanted to ask him if he wanted to sit down for lunch. I never did, though, because I was sure it would trash my reputation.

What a monster, _hideous beast; _too worried about myself, to help another. Save the man from the abuse he was receiving.

It keeps me up at night, sometimes, thinking back to it. What would have happened if someone, even someone like me, would have simply asked Uzumaki if he wanted to play ball? What would be the harm there? What would be the crime? What would be the consequences?

I still don't understand it, why he was viewed as the weak one, the one that had to be picked on. I don't understand why it had to be him. I guess he was just the unlucky one, huh? The one that wouldn't even make it out of high school; or at least not alive.

Every good story must have an unjust death, right? I guess Uzumaki, Naruto, was the key figure for their abuses. He was their entertainment.

_He made it a good show._

* * *

Sitting alone, emotions rush like a waterfall into my mind, my body, my soul. I close my eyes and slam the small notebook, ratted and tattered with the years, closed. Why did I choose today to think about this? Why does it even matter?

Letting out a quick, even, pained groan I let all of it out. No tears, just groans and sighs, that's what I am. Running fingers through my greasy black hair, I am reminded I need to take a shower. Writing music is hard, even harder when the small song you were working on turns out to be an entry that should lie deep within a shrink's desk, in a journal of an unlucky patient.

Thank God I don't live around my mom anymore, since she would most likely be the one to find my notebook and read that entry. Of course, I guess if I still lived with her, then Naruto wouldn't be dead. He would still be alive, breathing, and maybe even...

I groaned again, opening my eyes, I stood to my feet. I needed to get that man out of my head; it wasn't like he would be coming back anytime soon, so why did it matter? Maybe he was looking at me, from wherever he was. Maybe he is smiling, someone remembers him. Maybe he is laughing, only a loser would remember him. Maybe he is angry, only a low life wannabe rock-star remembers him.

Laughing at my own crude, selfish, humor I walk through my small apartment; stepping on pencils, crunching papers, tripping over old cans of potato chips. I laugh, lowly, as I walk through my apartment. If mom saw this mess she would have a heart attack, if Dad saw it he would laugh, and if my brother saw it- well, he wouldn't see it.

Itachi, my older brother, had been gone for years. Leaving the house when I was sixteen years old, I never thought I would see him return. When I tried to convince him to stay, he simply said 'no' that his 'girl' needed him, and then he walked away. None of us know what happened to him, if he is even still a part of society, if he is in jail, dead, or in another country. We don't know and I suspect we won't know.

Besides, I have nothing to say to him anyways. Mom and Dad were always loving, compassionate, and the best parents that society would allow. He had no reason for leaving, other than for that girl he called 'his one and only.'

I hope one day he skims through the channels of his T.V., holding 'his girl,' and sees my face on MTV. I will be the next biggest rock sensation, all over the media, all over the internet. I hope, one day, he sees that and thinks of what he left behind.

A loving family that is what he left behind.

Huffing, I wonder if my thoughts would make a good song. I trudge into my bathroom, running my shower, and going through the morning checklist. I follow this list all the way up to coffee, finding there was no coffee left, I cursed under my breath and walked over to put on my running shoes; guessing a small morning run to the nearest coffee shop wouldn't be so bad.

Ever since I had left home, gotten out into the world on my own, I had been barely making it by. Driving my truck for any reason, other than emergencies, was a huge waste in what little money I had. I lived in the middle of town, right on the front door step of Main Street, which was small and confined. What was the use in driving, when I wouldn't find a parking place anyways?

Getting up, stretching just to hear my back pop, I grabbed my apartment key, my wallet, and a peppermint for the road. I walked out of my apartment and locked the door, placed the peppermint in my mouth, my wallet in my pocket; and then jogged down to the front desk.

Not expecting to stop for anything, until I got to the coffee shop, I barely noticed the old man's voice. Old Joe, that was what everyone called him, owned and operated this small apartment complex. No one could say he done the best job but no one could complain. Why? There was simply nothing to complain about.

"Hey! Uchiha! Sasuke Uchiha! You have mail! Kid! Listen to me!" Joe yelled after me, I passed his office desk, but stopped by the time I heard his last shout. Turning around, I narrowed my eyes in confusion, then smiled and walked over to his desk.

"Joe," I replied, trying to sound as friendly as possible. I guessed he was about to give me a good long lecture, when I guess he simply couldn't think of anything that he hadn't already told me about.

"You have mail, as I said," Joe said, his plain facial features scrunched up into a disappointed furrow. He handed me a bunch of papers, shaking his head," Kids and their obsessions with being famous. Back in my day!-"

"Thanks, Joe," I said, looking through the mail and ignoring him. The mail consisted of: bill, junk mail, letter from mom, and coupons to the local grocery store. I sighed, nothing very important, aside from mom's letter, I gave them back to Joe.

"Keep them, for me please, until I return," I suggested, I waited for a reply for a few minutes and then started walking again. Joe had been ranting, I guess if I just put them on his desk, he would keep them; he always did.

It took fifteen minutes to make my way too the coffee shop, even though I lived in the city, I wasn't too far away from a beach front. Warm, salty, air in the morning done wonders to wake a person up. For me, it was a miracle, since my habit was staying up until four in the morning and waking up at around eight, I needed it.

Walking into the coffee shop, the small bell dinged. I had once applied for a job here, since I had loved the smell of fresh coffee, but was rejected because the owner had found a _better_ employee. Sakura Haruno, I had went to high school with her, and yes; she was one of the crowd members that picked on poor Naruto. I never cared for her much, but in junior year she had cared about me a little too much for my comfort.

Sometimes, I wonder if she still does. I try not to think about it, because it makes me feel awkward around her, but I guess old high school habits die hard. Even today she seems giddy to see me walk through the door, smiling the whole way over to me, she tried hugging me but I had her settle for a quick exchange of greetings, instead.

"What will you be having today, Mr. Uchiha?" Sakura batted her eye lashes, forming an even greater grin. I was always puzzled at why she did all of this, I thought I had made myself pretty clear when I had spelled out: I A-M N-O-T I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D.

"The same old," I said, in a monotone, every day, voice. Sakura pouted, though she didn't say anything, I guessed I hadn't made myself clear enough with my spelling. I sighed, this was not what I needed, to be thinking about high school. Seemed everything was revolving around it today.

I watched T.V. for a few moments, as Sakura got my coffee. Setting it down, she said not a word when I mumbled 'thank-you,' walking off. I took a guess she wouldn't come back.

Nothing good was on the television, today. All they could talk about was new movies, coming out in the year, about vampires, werewolves, and anything else that was considered supernatural.

Shaking my head, I wondered on what the pop culture was changing the world into. Even though I never admitted it, too anyone, I was a sucker for old western movies. Something about 'shoot-em'-up bang-bang' brings pure joy into my mind.

Rolling my coffee cup in my hands, I took a swallow of it, bitter, black, it was an acquired taste. It was one that could wake a man up. In a couple of hours I would have to show up on time for work at the small fast food dinner down the road, the 'Akimichi Dinner,' I was lucky to have a job there. Usually the Akimichi's only hired Akimichi family members, sometimes I wonder if I am just a charity case.

Guessing I should probably finish my coffee and get back home, to check Mom's letter; I gulped down the rest of my coffee. Sometimes, I wondered if I should just call her to get it over with. I haven't done it yet, though, because sometimes I believe the sight of my hand writing makes her smile.

Makes her believe I am not a rerun of Itachi, I am Sasuke; forever her baby boy.

Leaving a tip and the money for my coffee, I left the small coffee shop and made my way home. Mom's letter included nothing different than usual an "I love you", or two, and one twenty dollar bill was enclosed. I wrote back, like usual, thanking her and returning her affections, lying by saying everything was wonderful, saying I would be home for my birthday, and then enclosing twenty one dollars in the letter. I don't like it when mom sends me money, so I always send more back, and she gets frustrated because I am stubborn.

I am convinced that I do not need any help, I will make it on my own, and someday I will pay for my own entrance into a college with a good arts plan. Until then, I am Sasuke Uchiha, who knows that if he doesn't get ready for work and leave in the next five minutes he will end up fired.

* * *

**June 6****th**

_Shadows are like blankets  
filling the spaces  
that once were occupied by you._

_Silence is the only sound  
creeping into every heart around  
I can't seem to break through._

Finally, some okay lyrics. I'm low on ideas, high on pride, and out of my mind. Three o'clock in the morning and I really should go to bed, but I don't want to just yet. There is something on my chest that I need to get out soon; I just don't know what yet.

Maybe it is something that I am not meant to know about.

Like every early morning there is nothing that I can do to cure my insomnia. Tonight, I really did try to get to sleep but it was a hopeless effort. The hollow, empty, silence of my apartment doesn't help the cause.

* * *

Shifting in the uncomfortable plastic chair, that is my desk chair, I move my laptop onto my desk. A Black Friday deal is exactly what the cheaply made computer is, but I can't complain; without it I would be hopeless. Turning it on, I wait for it to come to life, surveying my area. I really need to clean this place up a bit.

As my computer comes to life, and _Firefox _decides to be my friend for the next five minutes, I type in the URL for the only online chat room that I know still has people on it. I have been visiting this site since I was in eighth grade, it was a strange name, for one thing, but that doesn't stop anyone from making their way onto the site.

Its name is 'Konoha Ninja,' and everyone is represented by a small ninja icon when on the site. It is a little strange, I admit, but almost everyone uses it so why not try to keep in touch with them.

Signing in, my user name hasn't changed since I was in eighth grade, either. 'The Hawk,' that is who I am. Looking through the list of user's who are online, and in the high school group, I find no one of interest. Sighing, I sit back in my chair. Leaf High School always has someone online, except the one night I feel like being social.

Sitting there, I wait for something to happen, but get nothing. Deciding it is bed time; I walk over to my bathroom and brush my teeth, and put on my pajamas. I don't close the chat box, in hopes someone will come online while I am gone.

I am grabbing milk from the fridge when I hear the little _ding_ noise on the computer. Walking over, drinking straight from the carton, I almost spit out the milk when I seem the name. 'Lone Fox,' I hadn't seen that username in such a long time; I had just carefully passed over it. Now it was appearing on my screen.

I thought about it, I could hardly remember who the username belonged to. It was a complete shock to see someone had messaged me, even more since it was a user name I hadn't see in forever, but I couldn't place my finger on which face the username belonged to.

**Lone Fox:** Hello. How are you?

That was all the message said, giving me no clue to who they were. I sighed, typing back slowly; I wondered if I should even reply. Curiosity got the best of me; I asked exactly what I wanted to know, wondering if I would get an answer. Maybe it was just a troll or a hacker?

**The Hawk: **Who is this?

As I waited on the reply, I checked the user's profile. It wasn't very helpful in cluing me to who the mysterious person was; other than it said the user name belonged to Leaf High School, he was a male, and their last login prior to this one was around graduation day. A few days before graduation, actually; that was strange.

**Lone Fox:** Funny. No one even remembers me now. I thought for sure you would.

I was slightly shocked by the person's reply, shaking my head, I sighed. Typing back; I listened only to the typing of my fingers.

**The Hawk: **It's been a long time since I have seen most of the people from high school. I just can't place your username to who you are. Please, just inform me of your name.

I sounded slightly cold and off beat, but I always did. I waited, anxiously, for a reply. I laughed at myself, I was acting like this was the first time I had used instant messenger. As if I could stare at the chat box and make the other person type faster.

**Lone Fox:** Does it really matter?

**The Hawk:** You talked to me first… of course I would like to know who you are.

I huffed; I was dealing with someone stubborn, it was beyond irritating.

**Lone Fox:** Fine, since you are persistent, I will tell you. I am the dead kid, from high school, the one everyone has forgotten. I'm Naruto Uzumaki.

Reading that line of text my heart stopped, my jaw dropped, and I froze. I was talking to Naruto Uzumaki. That was impossible! How? How could I be speaking to him, at this very moment, when he was six feet under in a small town cemetery!

As I ranted through my thoughts I smelled something awful. Breathing out and closing my nose, I tried to get rid of the smell with no avail. Looking around for the source, I couldn't find anything that could be producing such a smell.

I went through the slow process of narrowing down what it could actually be. I took one more look around me to see a carton of spoiled milk sat beside me, a sleeping computer screen, and the fridge door was wide open. Yawning, I looked around, not being able to remember when I had possibly fallen asleep.

Remembering Naruto, though, I quickly woke up my computer to see that no one had messaged me at all. It had been a dream; Uzumaki Naruto had never messaged me.

"Wonderful," I groaned, getting up and disposing of the milk carton and putting up my computer. After that was done, I tripped over a few choice items, and made my way through the morning duties. It was Saturday; at least, I could go to the store and not have to be in a rush to make it too work. Yawning off the horrible dream that had occurred I grabbed my things and walked out of my apartment.

Besides, what were the odds of me ever talking the Naruto Uzumaki again? I laughed at myself and went on with my day's work, not able to stop laughing until I made it to the grocery store.

Nothing would bring Naruto back but I still couldn't shake the feeling of fear, discomfort, and uneasiness from my thoughts.


	2. Oh, Brother

**Read All About It:** I don't even know how to explain what I wish too, in this little section. I am so excited, so happy, that this story seems to be getting readers! Usually, my stories are duds, but this one seems to be far from it. I took a hiatus, maybe that is it?  
Anyways! Thank you for your reviews; BlueJai x, azhura03, Ev3ningStar, and vampyregirl256! This had made my day. It's a reason I am updating so early, too. X3  
Thank you, again! Hope you all like this chapter, as well.  
P.S. Romance? We'll see. Probably not much but I might swing that into play.

P.S.S. I wonder, should I change the genre to horror or suspense instead of drama?

(I'm)Mortal  
Written By: xMissNalax  
Idea By: xMissNalax

* * *

June 08  
This morning we all got a new shock, to add to our frustrating lives. Well, not frustrating, but 'hard getting by' lives.

Umuino, Iruka, is missing. No where to be found. Friends say he was last seen in his home, probably staying up late to watch the 'late show,' then, when they came by the next day, it was as if he just disappeared.

Where is he now? No one knows. There hasn't been any evidence found. No clues. Nothing.

Iruka had been a friend of mine, unlike most teachers, he believed my excuses for not having my homework, or essay, turned in on time. He caught me many times, during class, scribbling down lyrics to a new song. Usually a song that would never make it out of that classroom.  
I guess he thought that those lyrics would someday take me somewhere. Of course, they have, in a sense; but no where grand.

He always let me by, though, without even a comment on my lack of participation.  
I wonder, now, if he could have been fired for that...

* * *

Staring down at my notebook, seems I didn't get very far in lyrics, and turned another perfect page of notebook paper into a complete mess of just thoughts. Maybe I would be able to look back on this later and write a few lyrics, anything is possible at this point.

Just last night, I was talking to the ghost of Naruto, now, this morning, Mr. Umuino was found dead. This week started on the wrong foot and now was coming to a close on a broken one.

Naruto, Iruka... I groaned and rubbed the back of my head. I wanted to know what was causing all of this, it was like everyone was retracting back to high school; I wanted to stay out of it. Even so, though, I just keep getting pulled into the mess that should be called,' Leaf High School Rerun.'

I sighed, glancing over to a clock. It was bed time, midnight, but earlier then I usually would go to bed. I shook my head, after such a day, it didn't matter. I had no inspiration to write lyrics down, no goals to think about, and no reason to stay up and wait for anything else _scary _to happen.

I walked off to my bathroom, getting ready for bed, and inspecting a horrible bruise on my neck. Where did that come from? Maybe I hit my neck on something, without noticing it. The odds of that happening, though, were slim.

Shaking it off, I walked back to my bed, turning off the lights; I laid down. My apartment is laid out in a two room layout. The bathroom is a separate room, while the kitchen tile turns into carpet to form a makeshift kitchen and bedroom. My desk is inches from my small metal bed, that looks like one you would find in a typical camp ground.

Relaxing into my covers, the mattress groaning under me, I finally drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow would be a new day, I shouldn't be worried about anything_, but worry, I will. _

It seemed like ages ago. Warm, sunny, the school year was coming to a quick close. Of course, in third grade, you don't do much in school anyhow. Summer was just another time of the year where the teachers gave you candy on the last day, you ate sweets until you got sick, and sweated it all off in the blaring sunlight.

I stayed, mostly, consolidated to one corner of the playground. There was a tree over the fence, that provided a small amount of protection from the sun, and the other kids liked the hide candy there. I wondered if they even found out it was me, Sasuke, stealing it all.

I sat there, like any other day, and stared out into the world that was laid out for me. Teachers always tried to teach us about how beautiful the world is, how lucky we are to live in it, and how happy our lives would be if we would just accept that. I guess some people never did because on this exact day I stared out into the open, watching the sunlight gleam off his blonde hair, Uzumaki, Naruto, stood alone.

He always stood alone though, didn't he? Was this really a big surpirse? I didn't think anything of it, I was alone at the corner of the fence as well, I always sat alone. Why should it matter if he was alone too?

So, dismissing him, I ignored him for the most part. Watching the other children play, I sat there and ate the treasures I had found; candy. Smiling, a few times, at the silly things my classmates did, until I watched one walk over to Naruto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the kid, who was approaching him, and told him to go away. When the kid refused, Naruto tried to walk away, only to get hit square in the nose. The kid laughed as Naruto's nose bled and other children joined in on bullying him.

I didn't know what to do, my body was frozen, I couldn't move. "Stop!" I yelled at the children, they didn't listen. I felt like crying, watching them beat the child into a fragile mess, but I didn't because it seemed my emotions had ran dry.

_I hadn't even cried when he died. _

"Naruto, run!" I yelled but was soon caught off by something at my throat. My air ran out of my body, I felt like I couldn't breath; like one of those cartoon characters who turn blue when they cannot get air.

Trying to cry out, trying to fight, I looked at the face of my captor. Blonder hair, blue eyes, he matched the description.

Suddenly, time seemed to fly around Naruto and myself, we grew older and the playground scenery changed into a funeral home. A casket, meant to hold a man, was empty but showed that someone had once been in it. The casket was covered in dirt, dry, grainy dirt. I wanted to scream but still had no air to do so with. My neck ached, as Naruto dug his fingers farther into it.

"You, why didn't you help me?" Naruto yelled at me, growling, his voice sounded of a fox's. "Why didn't you stop them? There was millions of things you could have done! But you done nothing!"

"I'm... sorry," I croaked, not knowing what to say or how to say it. Naruto threw my body to the ground; when had he became so strong?

"You were the only person who could have helped! You didn't even try! You left me to die, you allowed my death to come, why? Why, Sasuke? We were friends back then, weren't we?" Naruto continued to shout, fire eating at the walls of the funeral home now.

Friends? I brought a hand up to my neck, feeling the crimson liquid as it escaped my body. My eye lids felt heavy, was I dying?

"When we were kids, so long ago, even before school. We were friends, we stood up for each other, what happened to that? Where has the times gone? Who are you, now, Sasuke?"

Who am I? I couldn't fight the darkness, as it crept in, anymore. It wasn't long before the blood loss caused me to pass out.  
Naruto, do you even know who I am?

* * *

June 09

_Sleep is what I need  
but I can't force it to erase my memories,  
my dreams, everlasting  
crying for an escape._

* * *

I got a few lyrics written down, only because I was trying to relieve myself of last nights dream. Shaking, I would have usually just forgotten it all, but today I couldn't shake it off. Why? Because my neck did have a wound on it. Not a scratch, but an actual wound. I had ever called in sick, to work, not knowing how to face them all.

I had turned on 'Konoha Ninja,' wondering if my mom would possibly get online, like she rarely did. I wanted someone to tell about the wound, but I didn't think anyone would take my story very well, other then my mom. She was probably the only person that wouldn't have me locked up in the 'crazy bin.'

Mom didn't get online though, hours passed as I waited, and she never came. I could just call her, I guessed, but I didn't know how stable I could keep my voice when speaking. I was shaken from last night, horribly shaken.

How could something that happens in a dream become reality? I don't understand it. Naruto dug his nails into my flesh, while in a dream, and left the scar there for my waking hours.

I was starting to believe in those 'scary' paranormal shows, that always come on in the early morning hours on the T.V. Naruto wasn't a damned spirit, was he?

Shaking my head, I decided I didn't want the answer to that. I walked over to the small, out of place, red window in the far right wall of my apartment. Opening it up, I needed fresh air. I stuck my head out the window and smelled the salty air, that barely lingered in my part of town. It was a nice smell, getting myself lost in it was exactly what I needed.

Then my phone rang, making me jump and come back to reality. Cursing under my breath, I walked over to my phone. It was nothing like what everyone had in this time era. No, it was one of the 'dinosaur phones' that still flipped up and had each number labeled with what letters it stood for.

Grey, simple, and old. That was the direct description of my cell phone. Laughing, slightly at myself, I flipped up the phone, looking at the caller. The number didn't register in my call log, or my contacts, but it seemed familiar. I put the phone to my ear and spoke.

"Hello?"

"Little brother?" The voice on the other end spoke, shocking me. Deep, rough, and low; it had to be none other then my older brother, Itachi.

"Itachi, what do you want?" I growled. I hadn't spoken to him since he left the house, almost four years ago, I didn't care about speaking to him now.

"Hey, um, I wanted to ask a favor. I know we haven't spoke in forever but... I need somewhere to stay."

"What? Did she kick you out?" I continued to growl, of course, typical Itachi. Only calling when he wanted or needed something, just like how he did with Mom and Dad. I guess Dad had been the one to pick up the phone this time, instead of Mom.

"Yeah, um, rough time you know? I was wondering if I could spend the night with you. Just one night, that's all," Itachi sounded like he was begging, out of character for him. I sighed, what harm could one night do?

"When will you be here?" I asked, shaking my head in disgust. For the moment, my neck injury seemed to slip my mind all together. Only when Itachi asked for my address did it return, I didn't know what the say, so I came up with a plan as quick as I could.

I told Itachi my address and then continued on to my condition:

"If you stay here you may not tell Mom or Dad anything about where I live, how I look, or how my apartment looks. Got it?"

"Does my little brother not know how to clean his room?" Itachi teased, stopping when I huffed," Fine, I promise I won't. I will be at your.. um..."

"Apartment," I finished for him," And when you come in tell Joe you are looking for me."

"Okay, got it... Wait!" I started to hand up the phone, but stopped when Itachi spoke again. "As I was saying, I will be there by eight. Love you, little brother!" The Itachi hung up the phone.

"Love you too," I muttered, closing my cell phone and throwing it on my bed. Great, Itachi was coming. I was so _thrilled._ Looking around my apartment I decided it was about time for spring cleaning, I should probably clean off the couch for Itachi at the least.

Getting to work, it took my mind off everything for a little while. I found things I didn't even know I still owned in the pills of trash. A baseball, spatula, a cord to something, a T.V. Remote, and my old stuffed animal that Mom had bought me when I was six. Trashing the baseball, I kept the stuffed animal and placed it in my dresser.

I tried my best to find where the cord belonged, but found nothing at all that it fit. I guessed I must have accidentally packed it when I left home, it probably belonged to my gold 'gameboy' or something.

The T.V. Remote I had been missing for ages, it was a relief to find it, so I wouldn't have to get up every time I wanted to change the channel on my T.V. I washed off the spatula and put it away, reminding myself I hadn't eaten anything all day.

Oddly, I wasn't hungry, though, so I kept trucking to get the room clean. It took two more hours before the room was finally presentable, not completely clean, but my brother was a pretty nasty fellow anyhow. He would fit in nicely.

Finally, I walked over to my stove and made myself a grilled cheese sandwich, cursing at how slow the makeshift kitchen made cooking. I finished that task, grabbed myself a 'Dr. Pepper' and sat down on the edge of my bed, turning on the T.V. With my recovered remote.

The news was on, I sighed not needing to hear all the depressing stories they had to tell me. I only had local channels, though, and I guess the update on Iruka would make watching the television worth while.

"A suspect has been identified in the disappearance of Umuino Iruka. Twenty year old, Neji Hyuuga, was found near the suspected crime scene this afternoon. Police say he could have been looking for ways to hide his tracks, further, or was simply attempting to get caught. What do you think Rondon?" The television woman spoke, turning the story over to her partner who was apparently named Rondon. I huffed at how they seemed to make talking about these things so easy, though they showed emotions as if they were troubled by it. Fakes, that's all they were.

"I have a hard time believing the suspect is the criminal. Neji Hyuuga was a student of Mr. Umuino's during his junior year at Leaf High School, or LHS for short. Fellow students say no one ever saw any suspicious acts between Mr. Hyuuga and Mr. Umuino and that they both always seemed pleasantly friendly towards each other. It seems that something here isn't adding up."

I agree. Something isn't adding up, I always saw Neji as a bit of a 'cold' guy, but never a murderer. He used to be one of the kids that picked on Naruto, actually, now that I think of it; he was the main one. Still, that was picking, this was murder.

Of course, I guess that picking did lead to the murder.

Shaking my head, I reminded myself we were not talking about a murder case, yet. This was still just a disappearance, that the news was playing out for the views, nothing more. Iruka might even show up tomorrow and say he went on a vacation, laugh at how silly everyone is acting, and then everyone will forget everything. That is what I hope will happen.

"For now, Mr. Hyuuga," The woman spoke again, seeming serious and disgusted by the matter. I wondered how much of a show she could, would, put on over the case," is in custody of the police. The police has yet to release any new information on the topic, leaving the public in the dark. One question still remains; what happened to the missing friend, teacher, and leader of our community? Mr. Iruka Umuino, we how you sleep well tonight and come home soon, and safe."

The words sent shivers down my spin, as I chewed the last bite of grilled cheese. Shaking my head, I reminded myself it was all a show for the money, and that is was just a disappearance; again. I walked over to the sink and washed off my dish, putting it away while a insurance commercial blared from the T.V.

Neji would have never hurt Iruka, of this I am sure, the police was always making mistakes anyways. I walked into the bathroom, to inspect my wounded neck again, it still looked nasty but not as bad as before. It was healing quickly, I didn't know if I should be happy or worried about the matter.

"Ghost or hoax? New reports flooding into the station are speaking off a different matter then disappearances, but reappearances? During Halloween, we get thousands of emails and comments about the paranormal encounters, but it isn't even close to October? These reports are giving me goosebumps, are we not the only ones?"

The T.V. Spoke, making me pause. Was I not the only one experiencing these strange encounters? I was still trying to convince myself I was living in a dream but the news was catching my wish and crushing it. I walked over to the T.V. And listen closely to the story.

"Brenda, it seems we are not alone. A new poll shows that eighty five percent of people believe in the supernatural, five percent as not sure, and the other ten are trying to play it off as a joke. Either way, the newest story of a man, estimated to be seventeen, walking the streets at night are proving that we my very well be in the middle of a haunting. Brenda, do you have any more to say on the story?"

Walking the streets? I hadn't saw anything, maybe this was another one of their silly little games to get more viewers, huffing I guessed so.

Brenda dropped her voice as she spoke," All I have to say is I wouldn't want to be caught in a horror story like this one. Last night, a nineteen year old woman said she heard strange sounds outside her window, that sounded like screams, groans, and cries. When she looked, no one was there. Sounds like your typical horror film, but it gets worse. When she looked closer she could see a bottle of pills lying beside a gun on the ground. Report says she didn't take a second look before calling the police, thinking someone may be attempting to hurt themselves. When the police arrived, they confirmed, no one was there and that the gun and pills were gone. What do you have to say Rondon?"

"Maybe she was having a weird dream, Brenda," Rondon shook his head to the camera, so far I liked Rondon better then Brenda, he seemed more real and less fake.

"I guess we will never know," Brenda answered, before I turned off the T.V. And sighed. Exactly what I needed, to hear about a suicidal ghost story.

A knock came at the door, I trudged over to it and readied myself for who was surly on the other side. I decided that it would be a better experience if I tried to be nice. Glancing over to the clock, it was about fifteen minutes before Itachi should arrive, I guess the early bird got the worm.

When I opened my door I was shocked, though, no one was there. I stared for a few seconds, my mind wondering over all the events that had happened in the last few days. No, this couldn't be another event to that, this wasn't anything more then a stupid kid playing a silly prank.

I closed the door again but I didn't get far before another knock came. Looking through the 'peep hole' in the door, I saw nothing. Shaking, I tried to convince myself the kid had too be to short to see through the small lookout, that was the most logical answer.

My T.V. Turned on in the other room, as another knock came. Frozen, I listened to Rondon speak on the television, unable to move.

"Some say, these strange occurrences are coming from the lost soul, seeking for revenge. LHS's very own, Naruto Uzumaki, a senior who lost his life to the ways of the world. Revenge, he seeks out everyone and anything that caused his horrible fate. Mostly, students from his graduating class."

There was a long pause before Brenda chimed in to the commenting.

"Why didn't you stop them, Sasuke?" I shivered, hearing my voice, my apartment room had went dark and cold for a moment, I could hardly breath now. Everything was heavy, my emotions just under my fear, I wanted to run but I was frozen.

"Why didn't you..." Brenda's voice morphed, into a much deeper voice, a male's voice. The Lone Fox's voice," Help me Sasuke."

Suddenly, as if I had been in a bad dream, I found myself sitting on my bed watching the T.V., Naruto's final words still ringing through my head. The news was still on, they were doing some report on gas prices on the rise, and there was a knock at the door.

Swallowing hard, I didn't move for a few moments, trying to process what had just happened; I couldn't make sense of anything. Slowly, I moved towards the door and looked out the 'peep hole.'

"Sasuke, the man at the front desk told me this is your room! If this isn't, I am going to be highly irritated. Don't play games with me!" My older brother's voice rang through the wooden plank, that served as the door. I opened it, slowly, and awaited him to walk in.

Itachi smiled when he saw me, he had one small bag, that I guess contained necessities and a change of clothing. He laughed," You look like you have just seen a ghost. I'm not dead yet, ya know? But if _she_ finds me, I might as well me." Walking inside, he sat down his bag on the couch and then walked over to give me a hug.

"Big brother," I spoke, surprising myself. I was happy to see him, for once, happy that I was no longer alone in my apartment that was filled with horrors at the moment," I missed you."

"I missed you too," Itachi chuckled, hugging me tightly, before letting me go and looking around my apartment. "Now what was it that I wasn't supposed to tell Mom and Dad?"

Confused, I wondered if he was blind, did he not see the wound on my neck? I walked towards my bathroom, with Itachi following, perplexed.

When I got there, I looked in the mirror, and what I saw shocked me. My pale white skin was prefect, no break, no tear, not even a scar from where it had been.

The neck wound had disappeared.


	3. Laughter

**Read All About It: **There is no excuse as to why this update was so delayed. There is no excuse as to why I made the nine followers of this story wait so long. It is summer, I should be updating more regularly then this, and this should not happen.  
I am truly sorry and I want to thank you, the nine followers, for sticking around during the time between the last update and now. I am truly sorry.  
On a lighter note I have decided to stop basing the chapter names on songs and changing them to match the chapters, a little better. I hope this doesn't bother any of you. I have found that I work better in silence then I do with a song playing the background.  
Thank you for sticking around and I hope you like this chapter!  
P.S. And thank you to: Kuruizaki-hime, the anonymous reviewer, and Kukiko-Rei; for the reviews! They mean a lot to me. (:  
P.S.S. And, a question to all of you, what should the cover of this fanfiction look like? (Or the image, whatever. XD The picture on the left, top, side of this page.) What should it be of? Should it look eerie? Should it have the characters in it? Should it be something general like a clock, flower, book, journal, pen, cloud? Leave your suggestion in your review, if you have one. I am a drawing a blank. XD

(I'm)Mortal  
Written By: xMissNalax  
Idea By: xMissNalax

* * *

Sighing, I looked down at the burgers that laid out on the grill, I didn't feel rested at all. Actually, I couldn't remember how I had even gotten to work that morning, I couldn't even remember how I had gotten up. I guessed it probably had something to do with my alarm clock going off and Itachi having a fit because it woke him from his restful sleep, as well.

Sounds about right.

The reason I was so tired was for the simple fact that I had gotten scared senseless the night before. The wound, I swore it had been there, had disappeared from my neck completely. It was like I had not lived, that whole day, that I was bypassed by the whole world for a few hours.

Shaking my head, I looked up as a new ticket flew into my view, from the window. Sometimes I wondered how much food the population of the small city I called home could eat. Other times, I just remembered that I was working in a fast food restraint and I might as well become numb the hours I was there. Nothing interesting ever happened.

In the background of the chatter of the customers I could here the television blasting over them. I grumbled and wondered who the idiot was to get a hold of the remote, as the volume got higher and higher, but then as I trailed down the wall I saw her.

Short black hair, a pale skin tone, and a frail looking body. Hinata Hyuuga sat up against the wall, he feet stretched out in one of the booths, she stared up at the T.V. As the burgers continued to fry, I looked up for seconds at a time, catching glances of her. She seemed like a zombie, she said nothing to no one, just sat in silence.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw pink. Sakura bounced in from the side door of the diner and made her way over to Hinata, sitting down in front of her, I was puzzled. Hinata acted so distant so why was Sakura choosing to sit with her? Shaking my head, I looked back down at the food I was cooking, and continued on in silence.

"Sasuke, is that burger done!" I could hear the cashier yell, the diner was starting to fill up, and the line was getting longer and longer. It had only been five minutes since I had gotten the first ticket, of my work day, but that was long enough.

"Yeah, one minute," I laid out a bun, taking a burger from the grill, I laid it in an orderly fashion on the bun. Grabbing the ketchup and mustard bottles, I looked at the ticket, that called for ketchup only. Shaking my head, I applied the ketchup, and then sent it through the kitchen window.

The cashier looked grateful as he took the food and called out for ticket one to come to the front. I watched as a small girl ran up to the window and grabbed her food, then running back to her mother; who was suited with a simple salad. I smiled, understanding the ketchup only order now, and went back to cooking.

I had just gotten my attention back on filling the next order when I heard an outburst from the crowd. A usually quiet voice spoke up above the mass, in a mix of anger and depression, a thundering shout it was.

After Hinata being silent for so long it seemed that her words had more effect then anyone's. When you hear a person yell a lot, or talk a lot, you rarely truly hear what they have to say. When a small voice, never talkative, produced a yell above masses; you knew there was trouble.

"Just leave me alone, alright! It is none of your business how Neji is doing! It is none of your business how I am doing! My brother is getting death threats, by the hour, I don't need someone like you sitting here trying to get the newest scoop! Leave me and my family alone!" Hinata shouted, grabbing her things, she stormed out of the diner with such power that it made people move out of her way; in a fuss.

In the same booth Sakura still sat, her mouth a gap, her eyes widened. She was in shock, I guessed, that Hinata would have confronted her in such a way. In a better time I would have laughed, possibly, but I felt like it was not appropriate for the event that was at hand.

Sakura sat there for a good ten minutes, just staring up at the news, watching as Brenda and Rondon moved across the screen. People on television always seemed so happy on summer mornings but this morning they weren't matching the rest of us. The diner had grown quieter, less people were in the small building, and that long line had thinned out.

Sakura got up, grabbing her pink purse, she walked to the door in a slow fashion. No one moved out of her way, like they had for Hinata, and I felt like this was a symbol that the two had just switched roles. Sakura went from loud and crowd splitting, to small and conserved. Hinata, though, had accomplished the exact opposite.

Looking back down to my grill, I noticed that my eyes had started to water; I quickly wiped them away. I felt a sense of pity for Hinata, since her cousin was being accused of murder, she must be a mess on the inside. I wondered if she was hiding something, about her cousin, or if she knew the truth that the news was twisting into a lie.

"Sasuke! I need another burger!" The cashier yelled. Wiping my eyes, one last time, I collected my thoughts and returned them back to the object at hand. Cook as many burgers, in as short of a time as possible, and carry on with the work day.

* * *

June 10

_A small field mouse_  
_greeted the world today._  
_So quiet, so curious,_  
_she decided to come out and play._

* * *

Walking into my apartment, I made my way over to the kitchen, setting down the bag of groceries I had brought home. Putting away a carton of milk, a few cans of soup, and a bag of peaches, I jumped as Itachi walked up. I was so used to living alone that Itachi's appearance into my life had still not set in. Taking in a sharp breathe, I looked to him with piercing eyes, wondering what he wanted.

"We're in a bad mood, aren't we?" Itachi chuckled. I wondered how much energy it took him to think up that brilliant answer. It was the truth, though, Hinata's out burst had continued to pester my thoughts, and I was tired. There was no salvaging my mood, not now.

"We're in need of a job, aren't we?" I growled back to Itachi, going back to what I was doing, he held up his hands in front of me.

"Hey, hey, I am trying."

"Trying? I bet you have been sitting around here all day, haven't you?" I scowled, moving to the bathroom, I shut the door. I hoped this would block out his voice, so I wouldn't have to continue on the conversation, but it didn't.

"No, I went outside, once," Itachi said with a cocky tone in his voice, I sighed, rolling my eyes I turned my attention to putting on a different shirt for bed. "Actually, I was forced to go outside."

Laughing, he sounded childish, I walked outside of the bathroom and to the living room. My body moved, lightly, as I tried to suppress a laugh. It was funny, to me, that he was the older one and I sounded much more mature then he did. "And why was that?"

"She called," Itachi rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his feet, he moved back over to the couch.

"_She_ called?" I questioned, going to sit a few feet away from him, I propped my feet up on the coffee table.

"Yeah, you know, the one that made me come here in the first place. She is a scary woman, let me tell you-" Then Itachi seemed to go off on a rant, I watched him, and shook my head. What was wrong with my brother and his sense of reality? I wondered why he hadn't just declared that he was leaving her yet.

Coming to my apartment was not considered _leaving _her. My whole family knew what would happen once Itachi finally got bored of sitting around and dealing with my potentially boring life. He would pack up his things and would be found of the woman's door step, pleading for mercy.

"Wait, did she call you on your cell or my apartment phone?"

"The apartment phone," Itachi said, shaking his head, clearly annoyed that I had broken through his rant. "Why?"

"You gave her _my_ apartment phone number?" I growled, looking Itachi dead in the eye," Great, now she will be calling me when you go missing. What made you think that was a good idea?"

"Well, I have to pay for extra minutes on my phone, and-"

"I have to pay for using that phone, if it is used to much, did you not know that? Itachi, you are getting a job, so you can pay me back if that woman of yours runs up my phone bill! Actually, I have tomorrow off because I worked over time today, how about we go together?" I smiled, wickedly, at my brother. Hitting him in the shoulder, I chuckled. I should have been majorly angry at him but his mistake gave me the perfect opportunity to force Itachi to make something of himself and leave me alone. "It will be like... a brother's day?"

I laughed and Itachi pouted, crossing his arms, I stuck out my bottom lip; mocking him. "What's wrong, little Itachi doesn't want to get a job? Can he not deal with the same pressure his little brother does? Poor Itachi," I laughed on, the first time I had really laughed in a long time, and it felt good.

"No! That's not it!" Itachi stammered, looking at me, his face slowly turning red. I didn't know if he was turning red because he was angry or embarrassed, I was thinking embarrassed; since I had been speaking the truth. "It's just that, I, I-"

"You what?" I continued laughing, tears coming to my eyes.

"Fine! Fine!" Itachi held his hands up in defeat," I will go with you tomorrow to find me a job!"

Once I stopped laughing, we sat there was planned out all of the places we would visit, and what Itachi's strengths would include. After a long night of planning out the events of the next day, I forced myself into the bathroom, washed up for bed, and finally laid down. That day had started off with no potential to become anything, at all, but had ended in a great way.

For some reason, that I could not remember, I had once stopped laughing. After laughing for the first time in so long, again, that night; I wondered how I had ever convinced myself to stop taking part in such a happy action.

That night I had no trouble falling asleep.

* * *

June 11

_How worthless the raven,  
how eager the hawk._

For once in so long I feel very excited. It is like being a kid again, when mom announced we would be taking a trip to the local park, my body is shaking from the anxiety to get going.

Thought I clearly cannot stand being around my brother for a long amount of time I think today will be a good day. Maybe we can bring back a few old traditions that were lost, between us?

Now I just sound sappy.

* * *

Rolling back, in the rolling desk chair, away from the desk; I placed the pen down on the coffee table. Stretching, I yawn, and glance over at the bathroom door. Itachi had stationed himself in there an hour ago, I hoped that what I would see come out would be something that looked like a first class business man, I hoped that the hour had not been wasted.

When my brother walked out in his Sunday best, a nice button down shirt, a black jacket, and a pair of black dress pants; I was astounded. I wondered how my brother had turned himself from, well, him into this brand new person that looked like a clean cut young man. Chuckling, a gave him a thumbs up, and then walked into the kitchen.

"What was that for?" Itachi asked, following me, he tilted his head a slight degree.

"What was what for?" I asked, back, and took out the milk from the fridge to pour myself a glass. Itachi grabbed a glass from the cupboard as well and held it out for me. Giving in, I poured his glass, and then put the milk back in the cold atmosphere in which it had came.

"That chuckle," Itachi pointed out, drinking his glass of milk in one swallow; he had pinned his hair back in a pony tail and had smoothed it down on the top of his head.

"I just, I never thought I would live to see the say that you dressed up, or made an effort for anything."

"That's not fair!" Itachi laughed, shaking his head," You're just jealous."

"Jealous of what?" I asked, laughing lightly, I shook my head and took his glass. Drinking down the rest of my glass of milk, I washed them both out, and placed them in the drainer.

"Whatever," Itachi sighed, dusting himself off a bit, he walked towards the door," Ready?"

Nodding, I followed him, grabbing my keys. I hoped that I wasn't getting my hopes up. Walking out of the door, I thought I heard a faint whisper, my name being called out.

"What was that?" I asked, looking at Itachi, I turned around and faced the living room of my apartment. Listening close, I heard it again," Did you hear it?"

"I don't hear anything," Itachi shook his head, stopping for a second, he looked back," What is it?"

Shaking my head, I sighed. After that day of work, thinking about Hinata, and coming home to laughing with Itachi, I had forgotten completely about my ghost problem. I had forgotten completely about Naruto, just like when we were in school; I had passed right over him.

"Nothing," I said, Itachi started to walk again, I closed the door and continued on to lock it. As I started to walk after Itachi I heard the voice again, faint, but in my ear.

"How did you forget, Sasuke?"

I jumped, looking to the side of me the voice had came from, I didn't see anything. Great, I thought, now I must be in trouble.

Walking faster after Itachi, all I could do was hope and pray that Naruto was clam, that he had better things to do then mess with me on this day. I doubted that lady luck was working in my favor.


	4. Old Friend

**Read All About It: **Late, late, late, and late. I am a tardy pants, I know, and I am sorry for it. The next update, after this one, will not take as long as this one did. School caught me but Christmas break is coming up soon and the load is lightening. I wanted to apologize, not only for my absence, but also for the possibility that this chapter might seem a little confusing towards the end. I struggled with the point of view and I am considering going back through and changing a few things; but I wanted to get the chapter uploaded as quick as possible. I really hope that it is alright.

Without further ado, here is the next chapter. :3

(I'm)Mortal  
Written by xMissNalax

* * *

Walking back into the apartment, I drank in the scent of my own home; that night had been too eventful for me. I still couldn't get over my brother's choice in a job, I didn't agree with it, but at least he was going to be getting out of my apartment some; right?

Swallowing, I walked over to the faucet and grabbed a glass. Itachi had been prompted to begin working that night. It was a strange way to start a work day, in the middle of the evening, but the company had wanted to make sure they knew Itachi; before starting him off on a full day of work.

Or presenting, I thought. Itachi had gotten himself a job at one of the local commercial agencies. This wouldn't have surprised me so much, since my brother had always been lavished in comments about his looks, but the line of work was interesting to me. My older brother had decided to take on the job of "male model." He claimed it was because it required little education; this, I did not think was the true reason.

Of course he would find himself in normal commercial work and I wouldn't doubt that his face would soon be on my own TV; but that wasn't the end to it. I had read over part of the description, of the job, more than once, and the possibility of seeing my brother in a pair of heart pattern underwear, on TV, always stopped me from continuing any further into the description.

"I'm going to be the laughing stock of the town," I sighed, walking to my bedroom. Quickly, I made my bed, and continued on with my evening routine of getting ready for bed. I couldn't take my mind off of Itachi, the whole time, and was glad when I finally could lie down in bed. Sleep might be able to rid my mind of the horrible image that my brother had earlier placed there.

Just then, the phone rang, making me jump straight from my bed. "Who might that be?" I thought out loud, lazily getting up from my bed, and walking into the kitchen. Picking up the phone, I said a greeting, and then waited for the person on the other end of the line to say something to me. No one continued the conversation, so I hung up.

"Kids," I laughed, nervously, to myself. It was hard not to be paranoid, with the recent events surrounding me, and the thought of another horror movie scene playing out in my life was too much to chew. "It has to be the kids downstairs, there is no other explanation."

Spooked, now, I walked back to my bedroom. Something felt off but I couldn't put my finger on the source of uncertainty. I shouldn't be afraid anymore, I scolded myself, it wasn't like this was a new thing to me. Still, I was.

Lying back down, in my bed, I stared up at my ceiling. "It was nothing," I reassured myself, closing my eyes," Nothing but a prank." Closing my eyes, I continued to repeat these words in my head until I fell asleep.

It was around two a.m. when I was awakened by the annoying sound of a ringing phone. Sitting up in bed, still half asleep, I shuffled into the kitchen. If it was those kids again I would not take any second thoughts of marching down stairs and demanding their parents to restrict whatever phone they were using. I laughed to myself, I sounded like a grumpy old man.

Picking up the phone, I brought it to my ear, and sleepily spoke a 'hello.' The voice on the other end was rough, but one I knew well. "Joe?" I asked; it was the old man from the front desk downstairs. "What are you calling at this hour for?"

"It's your brother, Sasuke," Joe replied, with a yawn," I was down here snoozing, like always, when the young man stumbled inside and fell to the floor. When I went to check on him he was barely awake. I helped him up and to a chair, down here in the office, but I don't know if he is going to make it upstairs to your office."

Naruto, had he done something to my brother? "What has happened to him? Has he gotten into a fight?" My voice sounded panicked as I attempted to reach across one of the counters, in the kitchen, and get my coat.

"No," Joe replied," I think he's drunk. Sasuke, has something happened? You seem on your toes, as of late."

I sighed, in relief and in annoyance, "No, I'm fine, I will be right down to retrieve Itachi."

Saying a small goodbye, to the old man, I grabbed my room key and made my way downstairs. I was cautious, the whole way down, afraid of meeting up with an "unexpected" visitor. When I got to the bottom of the building, and into the office, I found Itachi right where the old man had informed me I would.

"Itachi," I groaned, glancing over to the desk to find Joe fast asleep, "I thought we agreed that I wouldn't have to be doing this." My brother slightly looked up to me, his face was pale white, and his eyes seemed to be widened with fear. I squinted my own, turning my head to the side, I walked closer to him. "Itachi, what's wrong?"

"He's…. He's coming for you," Itachi whispered, my eyes widened, what did he mean?

"Who is he?" I asked, trying to laugh it off, "Itachi, I think you have had a little too much to drink, how about we go back upstairs?"

"He… He is right behind you."

I turned around, quickly, to look behind me but no one was there. Shivering, from the fear that was rising, the room was growing ice cold. "Itachi, stop this nonsense, it's not funny." When I turned back around I expected to see Itachi, laughing, and possibly throwing up as an apparent hang over was catching up with him but that wasn't what met me at all. Instead bright blue eyes and light blonde hair greeted me; a vision that I had no fully seen in a long time, "Naruto."

"How long has it been since we me have met, in flesh?" He asked, his lips moving quickly as they formed his words, his body radiating a heat that had been stolen from it long ago. "A long time, I guess, have you forgotten how it was to walk past me in the hallways?" Naruto chuckled, turning his head to the side," would you like to see what I mean?"

I was speechless, staring into his eyes, this all seemed so real. He was alive, or was he dead, this I could not tell. "I… I…" I couldn't form words; nothing made sense, the boy in front of me just laughed once more.

"Don't worry, I know, it's strange seeing me," Naruto chuckled once more, "And I understand why you are so tongue tied." Naruto looked up, thoughtful, and then revealed a goofy smile; one that seemed rather eerie, in one way.

"How about I just show you what I wish too, hm?" Naruto asked, the room we were standing in suddenly changed, the whole world seemed to be off balance. Naruto reached out, as the room began to change, and used his fingers to close my eyes; softly.

"Don't worry about a thing," Was his final words before he too was gone from my presence. When I opened my eyes once more I was standing in the middle of an average high school, with many people surrounding me; caring books and the like.

I wondered what had happened, why was I here? I glanced around; it was the regular high school scene. Maybe I had never left? Everything seemed so normal. I walked forward, slowly, to my locker. Everything seemed so right.

Naruto, I though; as I dialed in the pin code that I only remembered because it had been burned into my brain for four years of my life. Pulling hard on the lock, it wouldn't budge. I stood, puzzled, for a moment before trying the code again; with no avail.

I glanced around me, wondering if there was someone behind me, playing some prank; there wasn't. Turning the locker slowly, I noticed a few numbers on the back of it. Reading them, to myself, I noticed that it was a combination.

"That's not mine," I thought out loud, as I attempted the code anyway. Against my previous thoughts I heard the locker unlock, cluing that I had found the "secret code."

Opening the metal door to the locker, slowly, I reached in a grabbed a few books. Deciding that I would pay more attention to the strange occurrence later I walked on to class. For some reason, I knew where I was going, or my legs did anyway but when I made it to the classroom there was no printed name or teacher. I sighed, going inside and taking my seat among my classmates.

I had never been short on friends, though I didn't brag much about it, I just wasn't the type of guy that sat in the corner quietly and listened to everything the teacher had to say. I was a good student, don't get me wrong, but I usually wasn't found with someone to talk to. Even though I didn't care for too much social interaction, the thought that loneliness would never be able to catch me, in high school, was comforting.

Now I found myself doing just what I thought I wouldn't. I was alone, in the back of the classroom, with no one beside me. What was going on? I thought, as I watched a few more people walk into the classroom and completely ignore me. When the teacher walked in my hands reached down into my book bag and found a book, a book that was missing a name, author, and even words.

The classroom got quiet, as the teacher started to speak, and I was comforted by the words that came from his mouth; even though I could not hear them. My body seemed to react to things that I didn't even hear, feel, or see for myself. It seemed to be a routine.

Suddenly something hit me from the side, looking over I found a piece of paper that was crumbled up. My body sighed, though my mind didn't seem to comprehend why, as I grabbed the piece of paper and read what it had to say inside.

_Loser._

Huh? I thought, looking around. Who had thrown that? I didn't find the culprit, in my search; my body seemed to relax back into my chair without my mind's permission. Everything was strange, very strange, and I had no idea what to think of the events.

"You see Sasuke," A voice spoke in my mind, "Sometimes it is best to ignore things, isn't it?" I noticed the voice, it was Naruto's, but I could not see him around me. "Have fun."

What did he mean by that? This question haunted me for the rest of the class, until the bell rang, and my body responded by standing and walking on to another class. In this class I was alone too, creating an eerie pattern. I sat quietly, through that class, and then made my way to the cafeteria.

"Hey there," A girl said, walking close to me, and giggling, "My friend, over there, wants to know what your name is."

My name, I thought, and started to form the word "Sasuke" but it didn't come. Coughing once, I tried again, but it wouldn't. Another name was perching on the tip of my tongue, so I gave in and let it show itself, "Naruto."

The girl laughed once more, before leading me on to the side of the cafeteria, to a table in the corner; that seemed remote. Another girl sat there, waiting on us, both I and the girl sat down. "So, Naruto," A girl laughed, squinting her eyes, "May I know your grades?"

"Um, they are all… As," I spoke, wondering where that had come from, I had never been one to flunk out in a class but I also wasn't one to be making amazing grades, either.

The girls giggled, again, but this time their giggles were not joyful; they were mocking. Looking around the cafeteria, I wondered why no one was paying attention to this. "I think I will go," I announced, before standing up from the table, and grabbing my things.

The girls continued to giggle, "Okay, Naruto, see you late." They said it, in an off voice, kind of nasally.

Naruto, I thought, walking off into the mob of people. My name was Sasuke, not Naruto. I walked out of the cafeteria, going back to my locker.

Then it hit me. Naruto had placed me into his life, in the middle of the school year. My eyes widened, what was the date? Checking a small calendar in my locker, the date read May 22nd, that meant it was almost the end of the year. I took a glance around me, at the hallway; this was the senior hallway.

Oh no, I thought, that meant that I was living the nightmare that Naruto had. Although I couldn't feel what he felt, I couldn't hear his thoughts, I had no clue of his emotions; his body was in control, my mind was a prisoner, and if I didn't get out early enough…

Could dreams like this kill you, in real life?

Swallowing hard, I heard a bell ring in the distance, signifying that lunch time was over and it was time to go back to class. Hurrying to the next boring classroom session of the day, I tried to think of a way out.

Maybe he will let me out, I thought, Naruto wouldn't actually kill me; would he?

I worried about this for the rest of the school day and then during the drive home. When I got to Naruto's house I was greeted by his mother, who asked about his day. I mumbled, "It was alright," and then hustled up to my room.

Grabbing an ink pen, off of a desk, I took a notebook from a shelf and sat down on the bed. I looked around; examining everything about the room that Naruto had once lived in, it was an average bed room. I didn't approve of the orange walls, not very much, but the rest of it was alright.

His bed was covered in a white sheet and a comforter; that was designed with a flower pattern. He had a shelf and a desk, that stood side by side, radiated by the sunlight that shown through a white painted window on the west side of the room. It seemed no one in his family knew of Naruto's troubles; his room was so comfortable and isolated, like no one would ever think that they should worry about him.

While I had been busy examining the new surroundings Naruto's hand worked on the piece of paper, causing me to pay attention. It was a note, in what seemed to be his journal; I guess I wasn't the only guy with one.

I paused for a moment, as my focus started to center on the words that his hand was writing, did I really want to look? Considering the time of the year, the awful school day, and switch into Naruto's life, I knew exactly what I would find on that page. Still, I allowed my eyes to wonder, and to my horror my guess on the topic of the page was right.

* * *

**May 22****nd**

I promised myself that I would never think this way again but I have had enough. No one knows what I have been contemplating but I doubt that anyone would even care. I'm alone, at school, at home. No one is here to talk to me anymore. I just won't it all to stop bothering me.

In a way, though, this is all sad. I remember when I was a child, when I had that one friend, what was his name again… Oh yeah, it was that Uchiha; Sasuke. He's a real popular alpha now, though; he long ago forgot who I was.

If you read this, Mom, Dad, I want to let you know that none of this was your fault and that I am sorry. No one has caused this but me. By now you should know what I am talking about. I didn't want to go into detail because I know this will upset Mom.

All I wanted to say in this was goodbye and also I wanted to let Mom know that she shouldn't read this book. It's filled with dark thoughts. She wouldn't be able to bear it.

* * *

Naruto's hand stopped writing, as I tried to remember back to when I was a child. Was that why he was haunting me? He looked around his room, giving me a chance to wonder around it once more, my eyes got caught on a single item.

It was a picture, one taken a long time ago; it seemed to be wrinkling up in the frame. There were two boys in the picture, smiling, with dirt and mud covering their clothing and dotting their face.

"_Let's play baseball, Sasuke!"_

My mind turned; I remembered that day. Naruto's body had begun to move, searching for something under his bed, but my mind stayed still. That was the day when Naruto's mom and my own had decided to take us to the park; for the first time. That was the day when Naruto and I noticed that we would become good friends; well at least until the start of middle school.

Was that why Naruto was haunting me? I was his childhood friend. Had I ditched him?

I was pulled out of my trance as some sort of force pressed against Naruto's skin. He had moved in front of a mirror, giving me a full look at his body. I looked to examine what this force was to find a shiny metal figure pressed against Naruto's temple.

It was a gun.

"One, two…" Naruto spoke; slowly, as he took a deep breath.

"Three."


	5. The Tunnel Slide

**Read All About It:** Two updates in one night?! That's crazy talk! I couldn't help but go ahead and write this chapter, before it slipped my mind; the beginning was so fun to write. XD Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you for the reviews!

(I'm)Mortal  
Written By: xMissNalax

* * *

A moment of sweet solitude, an escape of some sort, far away from the home in which you belong. A place filled with peaceful bliss, times of great harmony, with no worries or fears.

I opened my eyes, in a field of small white flowers, and gazed around myself. Moments before I remembered being trapped in some body, I remembered fearing my own life, I remembered seeing a great light flash before me. Now, though, I couldn't remember where I had seen these things or why.

Looking down over myself, I gazed to my palms. They were small, fragile, and pale. Tracing a finger over the creases of the other hand, I wondered what had happened, and where I was. I couldn't work out the details so I guessed that whatever had happened hadn't been very important to me at all.

"Sasuke?" Smiling, I stood to my feet, and looked up into the cloudless sky. The sun was warm, as it shined down upon me, bringing a great peace into my life. I tilted my head, watching the birds as they flew by, and then looked down to meet a smiling blonde boy. "Where did you go? I know they call it… uh… hide and seek, for a reason but I didn't know you would be gone for that long."

I laughed, walking towards the other. He was shorter then I was, of course to be only five years old I was a little taller than average, but his spiked blonde hair made up for the height distance. "I'm sorry, Naruto," I said, looking down at my feet when I came to a stop in front of him, "I think I had some sort of dream."

"Dreams only happen at night, when you are sleeping!" Naruto laughed, punching me lightly with his small fist; it almost knocked me over.

"Hey, what are you trying to say!" I exclaimed, squinting my eyes, giggling as I did so.

"That you are… uh… what do they call it?" The other brought a finger to his lips and stared at me, in deep concentration," Oh yeah, a loony bird!"

"I am not a loony bird!" I protested, taking a step towards my friend," I am far from being one!"

"Prove it!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and backed up a few steps, the sunlight glinting off of his pale skin. I giggled, taking steps forward, only to notice him recoil and step back again.

"I will!" I exclaimed as I took off racing towards the other. Naruto gasped and quickly starting running away as well, towards the large slide at the end of the playground. He climbed up the steps, of the slide, and I laughed.

I had him now, Naruto would never slide down that slide; he had always been afraid. Climbing up after him, I watched him move himself into a corner of the platform, giggling the whole time. Punching him, in the shoulder, I laughed and stood up; breathing in, puffing out my chest.

"I am the king of this jungle!" I protested, remembering back to some TV show that had been shown on the television the day before, "Rah!"

Naruto laughed, smiling; everything was wonderful, fun. I checked into the distance, the sun seemed to be slowly setting, I could hear the birds chirping as they flew by the slide; and off into the clear blue sky. I breathed out the air I had collected and just watched them. They were so free; it was majestic, almost like some fairytale production; one that you could watch but never really experience.

"Naruto, Sasuke!" I heard a voice in the distance. Naruto and I both perked up to listen to the instructions that were about to be given to us, "It's time to go home, darlings!" It was Naruto's mother; I knew this because she was the only one to ever call us "darlings."

I turned to see Nartuo flush as she called for us. I suspected that this was caused by her choice of words but as I continued to examine him I noticed it was something more. Naruto looked, with horror, down the long tunnel slide. I moved to his side, sitting down beside him on the platform, to also peer down it.

"You know, I have done it before, went down through there," I said, knowing that my friend was afraid, knowing that he had no other choice then to slide down, "It isn't so bad."

"Are there monsters?" Naruto asked, turning to look at me, his pale blue eyes seeming to well up with tears.

I shook my head, no, "Nah, there are no monsters down there. Monsters have more important places to be then in a big green slide." I laughed, trying to lighten my friend's mood. Naruto continued to look at me, seeking more explanation then that. "Like… Closets, that is a more important place," I laughed, nervously; bringing back one of my own fears.

Naruto looked anxiously back down the slide, his lips moving again, asking another question "Is it completely dark?"

"I just close my eyes," I said, with a smile, "It makes it less scary plus you don't even know if you are in there or not, when you do that. I heard that Shikamaru went down this slide, with his eyes open! He said that it is actually not that dark, when you get in there, and that the worst part was getting shocked by those little metal things." Naruto seemed to back away from the slide, ever more, so I continued, "It doesn't hurt, though, it kind of tickles."

"Does it last a long time?" Naruto asked, staring down the long slide; he seemed to become a little more comfortable with it as I talked.

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed, shaking my head, "It last less than five seconds, any kid knows that, I think you are the loony bird!"

Naruto laughed, looking down the slide once more, he swallowed hard and slowly positioned himself at the edge of the slide; ready to go down, "Sasuke?" He looked down in the slide, checking one more time, his voice soft, almost a whisper," Will you go down with me?"

I nodded, moving myself beside of him, "One."

"Two."

"Three!" I said, pushing myself down the slide, causing Naruto to also slide down beside of me. When we reached the bottom I thought I had never seen a happier expression on my friend's face then I did at that moment.

"We did it!" He exclaimed, jumping off of the slide as his mother called us again. I followed his lead, starting to walk towards the entrance of the park, I was stopped as Naruto threw his hands around me in a tight hug.

"Thank you Sasuke. We'll be friend forever, right?"

I laughed, "Of course. Well, as long as you can beat me to the entrance," With a push and a shove we were both off, racing into the beginning twilight, completely ignorant to any dangers around us.

"Sasuke?" I heard a voice; it interrupted the blissful moment of my trance, making me uncomfortable. It was coming from some far off place, I squinted, as the beautiful scene that had been unfolding started to disappear.

I jolted out of what seemed to be a bed, breathing hard. Glancing around, I tried to locate where I was, or why I was there. It seemed I had been going over those two questions a lot lately.

"Whoa, calm down," Itachi said, putting his hand on my chest and slowly moving me back down on the bed, "Easy, tiger, you don't want to hurt yourself."

"Hurt myself?" I asked out loud, allowing him to manipulate me, I looked over to him," What do you mean?"

"When I came home, earlier, I noticed that you had already went to bed but you had left your bathroom light on; in your room," Itachi said, with a nervous laugh," So I went to turn it off and saw that you were sweating up a storm. When I approached you it seemed you weren't breathing and then when I tried to shake you awake you wouldn't wake up. I panicked and drove you here, to the hospital."

"Hospital?" My eyes widened, "Oh boy, how much is the bill?"

Itachi looked perplexed and shook his head, "Don't worry about that, I'm sure insurance will cover some of it, and I will pay for the rest since it was me who brought you up here. Brother, I want to ask you something."

I sighed and nodded, "What's up?"

"Is there something bothering you?" Itachi asked, tilting his head to the side, "You've not been acting like the brother I once knew and after the scare you gave me tonight I can't overlook the change in your mood, anymore. Please, don't hide things from me; I'm your brother right? You should be able to tell me anything…"

Itachi had no clue what telling him might mean. I closed my eyes and spoke, "I wish it was that simple, brother." I swallowed hard, not wanting to look at him again; afraid he would be angry with me.

Itachi sighed, I could hear him stand up from where he had been sitting, pushing his chair back. "Well, Sasuke, if you ever need me to talk to, about anything, just know that I am right here." He looked around, stretching, he gazed to the door way, "I think I will go and find us some food, breakfast would be nice, I will be back." With that my brother left the room.

I found a clock, near my hospital bed, and read the time. It was seven in the morning, about the time that I would be arriving for work, which made me almost jump up out of bed. When I did, though, I noticed a nurse walk back and gaze in to my room; looking irritated enough as it was, I decided just to relax and let her be. Besides, a trip to the hospital was a good excuse to stay out of work.

The nurse soon walked away and I resumed my laying state of the bed. The night before had been crazy and though I could barely remember what had happened, before the morning, I still had a vague sense that it had dealt with Naruto and myself being friends; when we were younger. I could remember being very afraid for a moment and then very joyful the next.

"Now do you remember?" I was used to hearing that voice now, as I glanced around the room to find its owner; Naruto. "Do you remember when we were children? Sasuke, you were my best friend."

"You got that point across," I said, not being able to find him in the room. I kept my voice down, as to not alert anyone else that was near my room in the hospital, "You sure did have a way of showing it to me, though."

I could hear a light chuckle, which echoed through the room, followed by Naruto's voice again, "You wouldn't listen to me any other way. It's a shame that I had to spook your brother so but I guess he won't be too affected by it, besides, he has no idea what is really going on."

I sighed, "Naruto, I don't understand what you want from me. If it is true that you are dead then why would you continue to follow the living?"

Naruto stayed silent for a moment, "You never gave me a chance to say goodbye."

I stared at the bed sheets, rolling them in my fingers, the room's atmosphere had become very uncomfortable all of the sudden, "Goodbye? No one knew what was going to happen, how was I supposed to-"

"We were best friends," Naruto intruded, with a "matter of fact" attitude, "You should have never stopped making time for our friendship and I should have been able to find the time to say goodbye. Matter of fact, you should have never given up on me."

"I never gave up-"

"See what I mean!" Naruto's voice rose, in either anger or annoyance, "You don't listen to me when I need you to, Sasuke." He sighed, seeming to calm himself down slowly, "I think I may have to show you this, as well."

"Show me what?"

"The first time you betrayed me," Naruto said, bitterly, his voice starting to fade, "I'll show you a sweet dream, tonight, Sasuke."

* * *

The rest of the day went by slowly. The doctors refused to let me go home, for what reason Itachi and I had no clue, but I guessed it was because the longer I stayed the more money they received. I agreed to terms on the payment and Itachi generously offered up some of his savings towards it; which I refused to take. It wasn't his fault, I knew that.

Around six that evening the doctors had finally ran Itachi out of my room saying that I needed my "rest." They were acting ridiculous, really, since nothing had really happened to me at all. When I would ask them why they were keeping me they always had some ridiculous answer to give me; and then a promise that I would go home tomorrow.

I had finally given up on trying to convince them that I was alright and just enjoyed the relaxation while I could get it; even though my first choice for a vacation spot would not be the hospital. I turned on my TV and quietly settled in to my bed covers; Naruto long forgotten.

It was around eight that night when things started to pick up again, the room began once more uncomfortable, and the television flickered until it finally just turned off. In one way I was tired of all of this, in another way I was spooked, but then deep inside I was also intrigued. It was like one of those good television shows that one just can't get enough of until they stop airing it.

"Naruto?" I asked, into the cold and darkening room. I got no response but I knew that he was there, waiting; for what seemed to be the moment that I would finally fall asleep. I guessed that it was better to get the dream over with then to fight it and finally turned out the lights and laid completely down in the bed; ready to sleep.

Deep down I knew that I should be afraid and fighting with every fiber of my being to stay awake. I was growing some connection, though, to Naruto; some kind of trust. In a way I felt that he wouldn't hurt me and that all he wanted was to show me what was wrong, show me how to help him, even though it was clear that the time for that was long lost.

My eyes grew heavy and finally I allowed them to close and for my thoughts to go blank. It was Naruto who was the leader, I was nothing more than a follower; I finally fell asleep believing this one simple statement.

When I awoke into the dream land I was introduced into my own home, with everything in place. My book shelf, filled with the very few books that I loved. My desk, cluttered with video game cases, disks, and portable systems. My bed, unmade and a complete disaster, followed by the night stand beside of it; that looked no better. My blue walls continued to enforce the fact that Naruto was showing me my own home.

I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs and suddenly my body was at work, attempting to clean up after the tornado that had seemingly hit my room; head on. It was no use, though, and by the time I heard the knock at my bedroom door I had given up on the cleaning frenzy.

Opening the door I was faced with the same blonde hair, pale skin and eyes, which I had come to call Naruto since I was very small. He smiled, causing me to smile in return, and made his way into my room.

"I can't believe that summer is over," The other groaned, falling on my bed; it seemed to mess didn't affect him at all.

"I can't either," I replied, seeming to have more control over my actions then I did in the previous dreams. I glanced over at a calendar that was hung on my wall and progressed to read the date. August the fifteenth, was what it read, causing me to sigh.

"So, are you excited?" Naruto laughed, rolling onto his stomach and then staring at me.

"For what?" I asked, turning away from the calendar to look at him. I laughed, just from the look he gave me; a mix of annoyance and humor.

"Loony bird," He snapped, playfully, and then continued, "For middle school, of course. We get to be big kids this year, yah know!"

"Naruto, you know that sixth grade is the youngest of the whole school," I commented, walking over to my desk and grabbing a set of controllers, handing one to him. I turned on a TV, that I had not noticed at first, and continued to set up some sort of gaming console, "We're not really big kids."

"Older then fifth graders," Naruto smiled a goofy smile as the game started up. I just shook my head and made my way to lie beside him on my bed, facing the TV.

"Whatever," I commented and set up the game for multiplayer.

"Oh, by the way," Naruto laughed mischievously, "I'm staying over here tonight. The moms said it was fine."

I smiled, "No problem with that." The game started and soon both Naruto and myself were lost in a fantasy land, created by game programmers, fit to distract us both from our worries about the next morning; when we would both start middle school.


	6. Lunchtime Blues

**Read All About It: **Hey there! I wanted to make a quick note before I started this chapter about its content. I feel that I might have made Sasuke go a little out of character, in this one, and I would like to apologize for it. He seems little… childish, in this one, maybe a little more then I should have done with him but I felt like it was necessary. (:  
I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
P.S. I am going to have a poll up about the next chapter(s) for this story. I would really appreciate your opinions! (: Thank you, in advanced, for voting.

(I'm)Mortal  
by xMissNalax

* * *

If there was one thing that I could say about my brother it would be that he was never one to actually pick on me. Of course he did joke around with me and thought it was irritating he never done it in a way that would harm me. It was nice knowing that I could count on him, when I was younger, and probably one of the reasons why I made it past middle school.

"C'mon, Sasuke, don't be a baby," Itachi said, as he pushed me on my way to school, Naruto lagging behind us. It always seemed to amuse him when Itachi would come into the scene and bother me, I never knew why though.

"Middle School is just like elementary school, you just have to keep going," Itachi smiled, moving me on along, as I tried my best to stop my feet from moving.

"But, Itachi, " I looked up at him with watering eyes, hoping that he wouldn't make me go anywhere. "The other kids have been telling me all types of horrible stories about sixth grade. You can't make me go there!"

Itachi chuckled, shaking his head, Naruto now laughing at how pitiful I looked. "It's going to be okay, little brother, they were just trying to scare you. Really, you will make it through it, just like I did." Itachi continued making this argument with me until we got to the school doors.

"It's going to be alright, Sasuke," Itachi encouraged me, stopping me at the door, and leaning down to hug me. It was a tight hug, as if he was going to squeeze the life out of me, but it was what I needed to get the courage to press on.

Naruto held back laughter as he went on ahead of us, stopping once he got to the sixth grade hallway to wait for me, as my brother pried me from him. "Now, I have to go on to school, aright?" Itachi said, pushing me lightly towards the door, "You man up, now, and go on to class. I'll be right here when you get out."

Sniffling, I walked on inside. I wasn't a baby, I thought, no, I was just scared of what I would find inside of that school building. What would middle school bring? High school, of course, but now that I look back I think I know why I was so afraid.

Maybe it was fate trying to give me a heads up on the hardships that I would go through the next few years.

I walked on inside to find Naruto waiting for me. He laughed as I wiped the tears away from my eyes, "That was out of character," He announced as I playfully punched him and started walking off ahead of him. He caught up and shook his head, "And I waited for you too. I'm only joking."

"I know," I sighed as I walked on down the hallway and stopped once more when I reached the end of the hallway. There was a listing of classes and who was in which class. It was just homerooms, though, so I speculated that we would get our schedule in homeroom.

"Look!" Naruto said, pointing to one slip of paper, "Our names. We are in the same homeroom!" Naruto turned to me and grinned. "Maybe we will have our other classes together as well, what do you think?"

I laughed, "It's not likely but I guess it is possible. I wonder who our homeroom teacher is."

"This slip says… Iruka? That sounds like a first name though," Naruto narrowed his eyes in deep thought before shrugging and walking on to class. "Maybe he doesn't want to be formal."

I shrugged and walked on behind him, straight to class. When we got there we were greeted by rows and rows of desks. This was different then elementary school, before there had been tables and chairs, the rows were a completely new concept.

Naurto and I found desks that were right beside each other, separated by a small hallway, and sat down to wait on our teacher. As soon as Mr. Iruka walked into the classroom he introduced himself and, just like Naruto had thought, he wanted his students to call him just by his first name. He said he wanted to be our friend and friends don't call each other by their last names.

He then began passing out the schedules and for a moment I thought Naruto was going to jump out of his chair. I soon had my own schedule in my hands which caused him to become even giddier.

"What class do you have next?"

"History," I slumped in my chair with a sigh, I wasn't too big in history, I had always preferred science and math over it. Naruto laughed at me but soon his laughter was cut short.

"What's wrong?" I asked with concern, as I saw him small piece of paper shaking in his hands.

"We don't have the next class together, I have science," Naruto said, he sounded like he was in pure shock.

"It'll be alright, I bet we have something else together," I said, handing schedule over to him for him to look at it.

"We have lunch together," Naruto said, looking over at me, his eyes filled with hope.

"Well, then, we can eat lunch together," I smiled, as I took back my schedule, "Think about what my big brother said; just move on through it. It's going to be okay."

We sat in silence for the rest of home room, which seemed to last for decades, finally we were set out alone; to find our way to class. I was not used to changing classes, not one bit, and it was a little tricky to find my next class but I did. The teacher was nice; she handed out a notebook that she wanted us to keep and a few pencils. She also gave us a supply list for her class.

I was happy to see the supply list. At Konoha schools one was not supposed to get their supplies until their teachers told them what they needed; and that was usually on the first day. It was always a fun trip to take with Itachi to go and find the things on the list; almost like playing hide and go seek in a department store.

I had my confidence when I walked through the door but it soon fell when I noticed that I had no idea where I would sit. Of course I knew a few of the kids from elementary school but I had always hung out with Naruto, not any of them. As my find searched for escape routes and went into total despair I saw a familiar face and a hand motioning me towards him.

I walked closer and recalled the name, quick, it was Neji Hyuuga. I had never hung out with Neji very much but we were friends, a little more the acquaintances, because the teachers were always pairing us together for projects. I took the desk beside him, and turned to look at him. "Hello, Neji."

"It's been a while, Sasuke," Neji smiled, his voice low and smooth, like always, "The summer really can take a toll on one's memory."

"Yeah," I said looking around, "Um, thanks for inviting me to sit over here, I had no idea where I was going."

"You're welcome. I figured they probably would pair us up for something anyways so why not? You looked like a dear in the headlights for a moment. Want to know a secret?"

"Uh," I started, trying to figure out what he was about to say, "Sure."

"Don't worry about what they are thinking," Neji said, motioning towards the rest of the class, "Really, it's not worth your time, or patience. The rest of the world always has something to think about you, really, they do but most of the time it is just fluff to entertain their minds."

I nodded, looking around the classroom, catching a few eyes watching us as I did, "Alright, thanks."

Before I knew it I had went through several more classes and was on my way to the lunch room. I was looking for Naruto, of course, since we had promised to meet up for lunch. But, when I reached the lunch room, I was stopped by a voice.

"Sasuke!" Neji called as he walked towards me, "Do you want to sit with me for lunch? A few friends are getting together, of mine, to eat together and we would like for you to join us."

I took another look for Naruto. He wouldn't mind would he? I mean, sitting with a few more people would only mean more friends for us both; and wouldn't that be a good thing.

I grabbed my lunch and followed Neji to the table that he directed me to. I didn't have a good recollection of any of the people at the table but there was one that I knew. Sakura. The annoying pink haired girl, who swore up and down that it was natural.

Even though she annoyed me so, I still sat at the table with Neji, trying to find Naruto. After about ten minutes of searching I finally spotted him, he had spotted me to, but he eyes were narrowed and angry looking. I got up from the table, excusing myself, and walked over to him.

Naruto dumped his tray and walked out of the cafeteria, seeming to try and avoid me as I followed him. Finally, I cornered him, in the boy's bathroom, finally. He had nowhere else to go.

"What's wrong with you?" I asked him, walking closer, and for some reason I felt off. Was something big about to happen?

"You betrayed me!" He growled, his eyes filled with disgust and tears. I was in shocked, what did he mean by this? I had been looking for him at lunch, had I not? This was just a misunderstanding; I just needed to explain the truth to him.

"No, I didn't, I-"

"You made new friends and have forgotten about me! I already know exactly what has happened; I had a feeling it would last night!"

"No, I was looking for you, I just-"

"You just? You just! You think you can _just_ forget about your best friend, Sasuke! You were happy, this morning, when you found out that we would be in different classes! I know it!" Tears were streaming down his cheeks now, hitting hard on me, I didn't mean to make him cry.

"No, Naruto, Neji invited me to come and sit with them and I was going to come and get you and then when I saw-"

"You're a liar, Sasuke," Naruto said, as the tears started to slow down, hate filling his voice. "You just want everything to go your way, you want me to believe every lie that comes out of your mouth, don't you?"

"If I knew that you were going to act like this then I wouldn't have sat with Neji!" I attempted to defend myself but yet again it seemed to only fuel the hatred that he had inside of him.

"Act like this? I am not acting like anything, you are!" Naruto wiped the tears away from his eyes and quickly walked towards me, hitting my shoulder, he stormed out.

"Naurto!" I went after him but he was already gone, leaving me in the dust. I was left to stand there, alone, trying to wrap my thoughts around what just happened. I didn't mean to make him cry, I didn't mean to make him angry, I just thought that finding a few more friends was an innocent way of saying hello to the new school.

I just thought…

* * *

My eyes opened to a white room, white bed sheets creating a comforting scene. I tried to think about where I was and soon I remembered what had just happened. Naruto had been in my room, threatening to show me something, I guessed that the dream I had just had was just that.

He still misunderstood, I thought, he still had no clue what had happened.

"You still want to try and defend yourself?" A ghostly voice made its way to my ears. I looked around, trying to find him, the source of the voice was easy to pick out now; less scary then it was before. "After all of these years you still want to defend yourself."

"You don't understand," I said, simply, not being able to find him in the room, "You wouldn't allow me to say what I needed to."

"Sasuke!" Itachi called and I guessed that he must be outside, in the hallway, coming in to see me this morning. He must have gone home and gotten some sleep while I was passed out.

"Like always you're going to let someone else get in the way of our friendship," Naruto said, his voice fading away as I heard Itachi's foot stops come closer, "I know what is most important to you, Sasuke, and I am not afraid to take it away."

"You just don't understand!" I repeated, as Itachi came through the door with a puzzled look to his features.

"Don't understand what?" Itachi asked, with a grin, as he held up a bag from the small breakfast joint down the street. "I do understand that you must be starving," Itachi's voice was dramatic, I guessed he must be practicing it for some sort of act that he had gotten at work, "I wouldn't leave my dear brother alone to eat that horrible hospital food!"

I shook my head at him, a smile crawling it's way to my features, Itachi sure did know how to cheer me up. He always had, just like-

Naruto knew what was most important to me, my mind droned over this as Itachi continued whatever line he had gotten together in his mind. Had Naruto meant Itachi?

Had Naruto also been reason that Iruka had gone missing and Neji had been blamed? Did he have that type of effect on the physical world?

My mind was left to ponder this for the rest of the day, as I continued on like nothing was wrong. He couldn't take Itachi from me, I wouldn't let him.


End file.
